Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 164 Tiger Head Gang

The young man, his face contorted with rage, sternly addressed the bandit leader: "Li Feihu, how dare you be so audacious! The chief repeatedly warned us that the situation is critical and we must not cause any trouble! If we jeopardize our mission, can you take responsibility?"

It turned out that the bandit leader was named Li Feihu. Yan Mingzhang quickly recalled the document he had read a few days ago. Li Feihu was the second-in-command of the Tiger Head Gang in the Guannan region. The Tiger Head Gang was a notorious bandit stronghold in Guannan, with Wang Tianhu as the leader, Li Feihu as the second-in-command, and Zhao Yinhu as the third-in-command. These people had their own principles and were ruthless. He never expected that these people would actually come to Chanzhou. He wondered what their plans were.

Li Feihu, his face full of defiance and disdain, sneered, "Hmph, Liu Mubai, who do you think you are? Do you really think you're the strategist of our Tiger Head Gang? The boss listens to you, and we won't be fooled by you! What trouble? We've been here for a while now. Look at that corrupt official, is he sincere? He's just leaving us hanging here. Are we brothers supposed to starve and wait until the negotiations are over?"

Yan Mingzhang had a plan in mind, guessing that the imperial court might want to offer amnesty to these mountain bandits. In recent years, with the unification of the country, many mountain bandits and outlaws had been recruited, but since His Majesty became obsessed with Taoist cultivation, many policies had been neglected, and it seemed that the officials in charge of this recruitment were not taking it seriously. If this matter failed, it would bring further suffering to the people!

Upon hearing this, the young man named Liu Mubai's face darkened, and he glared at Li Feihu. "Li Feihu, don't forget your place. How can you disobey the orders of the leader? The peace talks are for the future of our Tiger Head Gang. If your reckless actions ruin everything, can you bear the consequences?"

Li Feihu snorted coldly, still unconvinced: "Hmph, of course I know my own identity. But what right do you have to criticize me? You just think you can control everything because you rely on the leader's trust. We brothers have risked our lives for the Tiger Head Gang in this harsh land, and now we have to endure hunger and thirst, just waiting for a peace talk that may never come to fruition. I refuse to accept this!"

Liu Mubai frowned deeply: "I don't care whether you obey or not, you must follow orders, prioritize the overall situation, and stop treating human life so lightly. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Li Feihu's emotions grew increasingly agitated: "The bigger picture? All I know is that my brothers are starving to death. What should we do if the peace talks fail? Are we just going to sit here and wait to die? In my opinion, there's no need for peace talks at all. We should just kill that corrupt official, go back to our Tiger Head Gang, and be our own bandits, living a carefree life!"

Liu Mubai took a deep breath: "Li Feihu, calm down."

Just then, a bandit rode up and whispered a few words in Liu Mubai's ear. Yan Mingzhang didn't hear clearly, but he heard Liu Mubai's expression change drastically upon hearing the words, and he muttered two words, "They ran away?" It seemed that they were probably chasing someone.

Liu Mubai remained expressionless, but his eyes visibly sharpened. Yan Mingzhang inwardly knew something was wrong; if Liu Mubai intended to kill, none of his many bandits would escape today.

Seeing that Liu Mubai was busy talking to others and leaving him aside, Li Feihu realized that Liu Mubai was not taking him seriously at all!
Enraged, Li Feihu suddenly lunged forward, his meteor hammer whistling through the air, poised to strike Liu Mubai's horse. At that critical moment, Liu Mubai's eyes sharpened, and with a flick of his wrist, his riding whip lashed out like a serpent. A crisp "crack" rang out as the whip struck Li Feihu hard across the face. Even the strong Li Feihu staggered from the blow, a red mark instantly appearing on his cheek. Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events, the atmosphere instantly becoming extremely tense.

Liu Mubai sat upright on his horse, his gaze icy, and coldly asked, "Do you want to continue fighting?"

Li Feihu, who possesses superhuman strength, was actually subdued by Liu Mubai with a single whip! Liu Mubai's martial arts skills are unfathomable!

Mountain bandits are always bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong; whoever has the biggest fist is the boss. Li Feihu's face stung from the vicious whip strike, his previous arrogance vanishing instantly. He gritted his teeth, resentful but daring not to retaliate further, and could only silently retreat. Liu Mubai lightly kicked the horse's flank, signaling his men to take out a bag of loose silver, which he casually tossed to Yan Mingzhang and the others. Then he pulled on the reins, signaling Li Feihu and the others to follow. The bandits were about to leave when they suddenly stopped. He turned his head slightly, his gaze falling on Rong Wanyin, his eyes calm and undisturbed, and slowly said, "Your swordsmanship is not bad, but it's a bit immature; you need more practice."

After Liu Mubai finished speaking, he flicked the reins, and his horse galloped away, leaving behind only a dashing figure and a group of people who had escaped death, each with a different expression.

Rong Wanyin was furious. Everyone usually praised her swordsmanship, but today she was being told this. It was like a vegetable vendor who thought his vegetables were the freshest and best, only to be told by a picky customer that they weren't good enough, and yet the vendor had the right to say that.

Rong Wanyin was seething with anger, but couldn't refute it. After all, the other man had subdued Li Feihu with a single whip strike, while she and Mo Yun had barely managed a draw against him. The difference was indeed quite significant. This Liu Mubai wasn't very old; how could he be so powerful? How did he train?

Everyone who had escaped death was still in shock. Once the tension subsided, they all breathed a long sigh of relief.

The group found a quiet place to rest, check their injuries, and pack their belongings, all feeling grateful and moved to have survived the ordeal.

After resting, the group set off again for Guannan, and Rong Wanyin and the other two bid farewell to Old Li and his companions.

-------

In the warm afternoon in the woods, several birds perched on branches and twittered. Suddenly, they were startled by the sound of horses' hooves and flew away, their wings flapping loudly.

Yan Mingzhang tightened the reins and stopped, carefully surveying his surroundings as if trying to etch the entire scene into his very bones. His expression remained calm, but his hands trembled slightly. He dismounted and walked to a boulder taller than a man. His fingertips traced the rough texture of the stone, the indentations still damp with last night's rain, feeling a chilling coldness. Yan Mingzhang's eyes were red, but his rims were dry, without a single tear.

"Hey, what's wrong, sir?" Rong Wanyin nudged Mo Yun with her arm. It was the first time she had seen Yan Mingzhang like this, and she felt a little uneasy.

"This is where your parents were murdered by thieves," Mo Yun said, turning his head to the side and lowering his voice.

"Ah? Your parents?" Rong Wanyin had only heard snippets of information before, knowing that Yan Mingzhang's parents were killed by thieves when he was five years old, and that they were killed right in front of him! Yan Mingzhang's father was the second son, and he was later adopted by his uncle's family.